Quick Update From W A
After picking up the hire car in Adelaide last week we handed it back in Perth 7 days later with an extra 2,920 kms on the clock. It sure is a big country this one. Now back in Kalgoorlie and played 9 holes at the local golf club this week.
The course itself is pretty decent and this picture gives you a hint of the style. If you watch golf on TV and have seen the Waste Management Open from Scottsdale Arizona ( or have visited there in person as Vaughn did ) , or the Dubai Desert Classic, it's that kind of golf course. There is little or no rough to speak of. There is fairway and then there is red earth or desert where they haven't laid turf and presumably don't irrigate. The greens all tend to be like upturned saucers with steep run off areas and being pretty quick were not that easy to find. Further, if you found yourself in a greenside hollow, it was no gimme to put the ball on the green for a putt being your next shot. If you were not careful, your ball would scoot through and run off the other side. All good fun anyway and it was a nice warm day without the flies which come later in their millions.
The other good thing about being in Australia is that you get to meet some of their heroes - like this one I found in Bunnings.
Chris Timms On Fire
Thanks again for the update from Eddie but before we get to the heroics from Chris Timms some other strange stories .......
You will recall the story of Derek getting " sconed " in his Haggitt Cup match and how last week he bravely fronted up for Wednesday golf sporting his hurt sticker covering up his weekend war wound on his forehead .... well.
This is a photo of Derek Todd's trundler before golf last Saturday, which includes an orange safety cone and a yellow safety jacket. To advise that Derek's head plaster has been removed and he played 18 holes with no incident this week. Such a brave boy Derek - well done.
Then in other breaking news.
We did have another incident this week that involved Bookend Marsh, who like another of our Wagglers Hamish Caithness, has been spending a bit of time overseas with the Irish. Since returning from his overseas trip he had noticed that his trundler was a bit intermittent in its behaviour. So being a fixit car sales person, he figured that using a hairdryer would be a good solution to drying out the battery points before he embark on his golf day. The photo above shows that there is not a lot of need for the hairdryer to attend to his own needs.
Anyway at golf today his trundler was causing a few intermittent problems, so he parked it in the trees on the left side of the 6th fairway and joined Alistair Adam in his golf cart for the rest of the day. On returning to pick up his trundler after golf, he could not find the offending device. With a bit more searching he discovered that it had restarted itself and driven into the macrocarpa tree in front of the ladies tees. The moral of the story is : What starts well ends well and he played to his handicap with 36 points.
Then there's VP Broughton ......
Fairway Phil arrived back from Bannockburn today with a determination to have no "outers" in his golf for the day. Playing with Sandy, Vaughn and Jamie he had a steady first 9 holes with 18 points, noting that this group did not take home any bacon.
Anyway on the back 9 holes it was noted that Phil fulfilled his objective of "no outers", with a picket fence of 9 "one pointers" and made 27 points in total. The photo shoes Phil being consoled by pro shop Mike giving advice that " there's always next week."
Well done also Phil, being in the group behind Bruce Grant, who were dragging the chain somewhat. Bruce lost his red rag that protrudes from his rear-end, which slowed things up a bit more and affected his performance on the last 6 hole tranche. This was picked up by Phil on the 13th hole and returned at the end, so Bruce will be back to normal next week.
( Note from Australia ..... there's a nickname here for people who might not be the quickest, they call them " Perth". It's because they are always 2 hours behind everyone else.
And so to the results.
With regard to golf for this week, Wednesday dawned a beautiful day after a lot of rain over previous days, which has made the course very wet and difficult. We had 27 players in the field after a couple of adjustments, so a pool of $135 up for grabs.
The first 6 holes saw a very good performance by team Bolty, Edgar, Caithness and Heaton who won in 31points. Apparently Edgar was a silent partner with bogies on the first 6 holes. The second 6 holes brought team Cooper, Laney, Grant and Todd into play, who combined well to score 40 points to win the second leg. Although Cooper played to his handicap, he chopped his shot off the 14th tee, going hard left onto the road for a bonus whisky for that group. The third 6 holes went again to team Bolty, Edgar, Caithness and Heaton with an impressive 40 points. While Edgar had regained his mojo and the others were steady, it was Heaton who carried the team.
The blue jacket was won by Stu Heaton with a round of 82 to score 40 points. However Stu had to depart early, so no photo recorded for this feat.
The Swingers Trophy was won by Chris Timms, who despite a barely average round by his standards, nailed three birdies to get the trip to Balclutha. Well done Timmsy, first day with Wagglers and a big trophy, your wife will be proud. Not forgetting his haul of skins last week !!
The raffle was won by Hamish Caithness with number 9, first day back after family time in Ireland and the Arctic.
The birthday boy for the day was Tony Attenborough, being a youthful 53 years. Congratulations Tony, "You're the man" and the envy of some other "older Wagglers"
The raffle was won by Hamish with number 9.
Congratulations To The Winners
Let us add our congratulations to our team of champions. Great result boys.
Congratulations to Hobbsy for his call up to the senior golfing All Blacks. Play well and enjoy the occasion and the recognition.